"Unethical"

Summary: Ray finally makes a move on Zack.

Disclaimer: This is originally a Chinese fic called "背德的" written by 藍骨頭 (Blue Bones) on baidu tieba. I have received permission to translate and post this.

Zack and Ray slept on the same bed.

They didn't start out this way. The Winter last year was particularly cold. Unlike Zack who was already used to wandering outside alone, Ray couldn't stop shivering. Even after sitting near the fire to keep warm, drinking some warm soup, and wearing many layers of clothing, the frail girl continued shivering. In the end, Zack couldn't take it no more and allowed her to move closer to him. Even when they were sleeping, he'd let her sleep next to him.

At first Zack was a little uncomfortable. Although he was indeed the one who suggested it, having to sleep next to another human being would still take some time to get used to. Every morning he would get the surprise of his life when he opened his eyes and saw Ray curling next to him like a blond kitten. Ray didn't care much about this turn of event. Other than the frustration of being woken up by Zack accidentally hitting her with his arm when he was asleep, there wasn't much that she minded.

Both of them slowly began to grow accustomed to sleeping next to each other. Even after the Winter had already passed, Ray would habitually climb next to him every night, until one day Zack came to realization that this shouldn't continue no more.

The reason for that came from one morning when Zack was woken up by a strange feeling on the back of his hand. Something was stopping him from moving his arm. His fingers felt as if they had sank into something soft, the kind of softness different from the texture of quilts and pillows. And when Zack opened his eyes, he nearly screamed in shock when he saw Ray hugging his hand against her chest.

Ray most likely didn't do it on purpose. The brat probably thought his hand was some kind of teddy bear and ended up cuddling with it. That was what Zack told himself repeatedly like a spell as he cautiously pulled his arm out of Ray's grasp and flew out of the room to calm down his racing heart.

All this time he had treated her like a brat. But now that he thought of it, Ray was like any other ordinary teenage girl going through puberty. It may not be obvious, but the small protruding signs on her chest served as a constant reminder that, at the end of the day, Ray was still a female. As soon as Zack acknowledged this, the tip of his ears went bright red for reasons unknown to him.

Zack scratched his head in confusion as he crouched outside the door. He just didn't understand why he was so hooked up on the idea that Ray was a female. Growing up Zack had encountered many females, but none of them had this kind of effect on him as Ray did. This emotion was foreign to him, and he yearned for an explanation.

Zack had a feeling that things wouldn't go well for the both of them if this continued.

And thus, that night Zack told Ray that it was about time for her to sleep by herself.

And when she asked him why, he explained, "You're a girl, and I'm an adult male. Don't you think it's a bit...you know...for us to sleep together?"

Zack didn't spell out the "you know" part not because he couldn't find a suitable term to replace it, but rather because it would bring embarrassment to both of them if he did.

Ray made a face like a kid who just got told to learn to be independent by her parents, and Zack almost gave in before he shook his head clear of all uncertainty and sent her to bed, while he lay on the couch with only a thin piece of blanket covering him.

Both seemed to have trouble sleeping without the other by their side as they twisted and turned multiple times on the bed and the couch respectively until Zack finally heard Ray's soft snoring coming from the bed.

A brat would always be a brat, falling asleep so easily after feeling sorrow. Zack, on the other hand, had a hard time falling asleep. By counting Ray's breathing, he was finally able to plant a foot into his dream world, and then he just had to be yanked out of it by Ray, who was somehow awake again.

"Zack, Zack." Ray shook his shoulder, waking him up. "I still want to sleep next to you."

It was four or five in the morning. Even the sky had yet to be awakened. Zack, who had practically not slept at all, really wanted to get mad at Ray for taking away his sleep, but the moment he saw her anxious look all his anger faded. He could only ask, "Had a bad dream?"

Ray didn't say anything and didn't nod or shake her head either. Zack sighed. She was always so stubborn at strange times like this. Inwardly still debating whether or not he should give in, his body moved on its own and made a space on the couch for Ray.

The couch was not as spacious as the bed. Sleeping under the same blanket, the two of them were practically glued to each other.

And that thought was terrifying.

Zack told himself that this was just a brat seeking comfort from an adult after having a nightmare. It wasn't anything to be concerned over. But even so, Zack couldn't help but stiffen up every nerves in his body.

Ray had her forehead touching his chest as she maintained a tight grip on his shirt, afraid to fall off the couch. And as she breathed, the heat permeating his bandaged chest was a little itchy. Not just physically, but emotionally Zack also felt as if something was clawing him on the inside. Every soft part of Ray's body practically melted against him, her chest, her stomach, her legs that crisscrossed his due to the limited space, causing something inside of him to go crazy.

Now completely awake, Zack glanced down at Ray who was sleeping peacefully against his chest, as if she hadn't just experienced a nightmare.

—In the end, she was still a brat. If he hadn't thought this to himself, Zack wouldn't be able to stop the guilt that emerged.

Her eyelashes quivered as if reacting to something she saw in her dream. Her face was ghastly pale, but on a closer look there was a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Her cherry-colored lips were strangely enticing, reminding Zack of the snogging couple he saw on the street a few days ago.

What did it feel like to kiss someone? Zack bad no clue. He never had the urge to know more about the male-female thing and this was the first time he wondered what kissing felt like. He rolled over, hands planted on either sides of Ray's body, allowing her to lie in the space underneath him.

Zack had a terrible idea. He wanted to assault Ray.

But apparently his motion brought too much noise, Ray was quickly awake, blinking confusingly at him who suddenly appeared above her. Caught in the act, Zack didn't know whether he should continue what he was doing, or back off. He didn't want to be a coward and back off, then couldn't come up with a reason when Ray asked him why. He couldn't lie either, no matter how embarrassing the truth was.

And so Zack could only continue what he was doing, leaning closer to Ray steadily letting their noses to touch leaving only a millimeter of space between their lips. Ray was still young, but she still had some ideas of what Zack wanted to do. Despite being terrified, she still closed her eyes waiting for Zack to kiss her.

As for Zack, the moment he saw her close her eyes, he cowered. How could he assault her when her fear was so evident? He lost all energy and just collapsed on top of her, burying his face into her blond hair and refusing to pick his head up.

"Zack?" Ray patted the back of his head with her small hands, heat grazed her neck as Zack replied.

"I know I'm a serial killer, but even I have ethics and morals I follow. Next time even if you have a nightmare, don't sleep next to me."

"—It's too dangerous."

That last part was said as if Zack had used up the rest of his remaining energy. If not for his soft breathing, Ray would have thought he was dead.

There was something she wanted to say to him, and she wanted to say it to his face. Ray nudged him and then poked his sides, hoping he was ticklish and would get off of her. But no matter what she did, Zack remained unmoving.

Ray wanted to save this for afterwards, but seeing how Zack refused to react, she had to switch up the orders, yank his head up, grab his face, and kiss him.

Ray never would have expected her first kiss to be her forcing onto another person. And Zack, suddenly kissed by none other than Ray, stared at her in disbelief. Ray could see a very obvious blush creeping onto his cheeks underneath the bandages.

Don't think Ray was dealing with this any better than Zack was. The moment their lips touched, Ray's brain stopped functioning for a couple seconds. If not for Zack's struggling, she would have forgotten to let him go. Heat spread from her cheeks to her ears, down her neck and then proceeded to run down the rest of her body.

"Zack... If assaulting me makes you feel unethical, then just let me assault you."

Ray's mind was a confused mess, her voice slightly trembling.

Zack had never seen her face so red, and he then realized that she was perhaps even more embarrassed of this than he, who was on the receiving end of the stick, was.

He wanted to tell her that ethics wouldn't just disappear if she became the dominant one, but he was too lazy to argue. The fact that Ray was more embarrassed than he was brought a sense of victory to him.

To hell with ethics. Right now he just wanted to kiss her, fair and square.

Fin.

T/N: Hope you've enjoyed this. Please leave a review if you like this and maybe I'll translate more great Chinese Zackary fics in the future. And I'll also translate the comments so the original author can understand and be happy.